Incision irrigator for use during surgical procedures

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed an incision irrigator which pumps a liquid by means of a deformable tube.

Umted States Patent 1 3,674,024

Cirillo July 4, 1972 {54] INCISION IRRIGATOR FOR USE [56] References Cited DURING SURGICAL PROCEDURES UNITED STATES PATENTS emu, Ni 2,4l 2,397 12/1946 Harper ..417/474 173] Assignee: Walter Kidde & Company, Inc., Belleville, 5 9/1954 30 ml 1 8/214 NJ. 2,527,614 10/1950 Arpin ..222/79 2.698100 1/1955 GI'OSh 222/79 [22] hlcd: July 15, 1970 1 pp NO: 54,91 l FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 126,075 1 1/1947 Australia 1 28/223 [52] U.S.Cl .128/234,128/230,42l272g7794: Primary Examin" Richard A'Gaudet I Assistant Examiner-J. Yasko 511 lm. cl. ..A6In| 1/00 Ammey oarby & Darby [58] Fieldflfsclrtl'l ..l28/234,278,2|3,214,216,

[57] ABSTRACT There is disclosed an incision irrigator which pumps a liquid by means of a deformable tube.

7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 4 m2 FIG.

FIG. 2

INVENTOR. JOHN CIRILLO ATTORNEYS INCISION IRRIGATOR FOR USE DURING SURGICAL PROCEDURES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to surgery and more particularly to an instrument used by a surgeon during an operation to wash away blood, body fluid and the like so that the surgeon's vision of the affected area will not be obscured.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an incision irrigator which is relatively simple in construction.

Another object is to provide such an irrigator which is readily operated in an efiective manner.

A further object is to provide such an irrigator which is compact in construction yet has a relatively high output at a substantial pressure.

Other and further objects will become more apparent upon reference to the following specification and annexed drawing.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing objects are generally accomplished by an incision irrigator which comprises a deformable tube having an inlet end and an outlet end, a check valve at each of the ends, piston means for deforming the tube between the ends thereof, and means for reciprocating the piston means to pump liquid through the tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, illustrating an incision irrigator in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the irrigator as seen substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing in detail, there is shown an incision irrigator or pump which generally comprises a body 10, a deformable tube 11 removably supported by the body, and mechanism generally indicated by the reference numeral 12 for deforming the tube.

The body includes a handle section 14 for grasping the instrument by hand during the use thereof.

The tube 11 has an inlet end provided with acheck valve 15 and has an outlet end provided with a check valve 16. The tube is constructed of soft sterile plastic which is readily deformed. After each use of the instrument, the tube is disposed of and a new tube is installed the next time the instrument is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the inlet end is submerged in a body of liquid such as a sterile saline solution 17.

The mechanism 12 includes a piston 18 mounted for reciprocation in a cylinder 19 within the body 10, a conventional gear train 20 having an output eccentric 21 connected by a rod 22 to the piston and having a toothed input wheel 24, a hand-operated lever 25 pivotally mounted on the handle section 14 and having toothed rack 26 meshing with the wheel 24 to rotate the same, and a return spring 27 for the lever. As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel driven by the lever drives the gear train through means such as a ratchet arrangement 28 for preventing operation of the gear train during the return stroke of the lever. The output to input ratio may be 100 to I.

In use, each upward stroke of the piston 18 squeezes the tube 11 between its ends, for example at 29, to drive a pulse of liquid through the check valve 16, and during the return stroke of the piston, liquid is drawn into the tube through the check valve 15. The instrument preferably is arranged to deliver pulses of liquid at a rate of about 20 per second and at a pressure of about 60 PSI. Each stroke of the lever 25 should cause liquid to be delivered for about 1 to 2 seconds, and the rate of liquid delivered should be about 500 cc per minute.

SUMMATION From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple and practical incision irrigator which pumps and delivers liquid in an efl'ective manner.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be understood that it is illustrative only, and the invention is limited solely by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A incision irrigator comprising: a casing including a barrel portion having a continuous passage extending therethrough; a deformable tube extending through the passage and having inlet and outlet ends externally of said casing; reciprocating means for deforming said tube to vary the effective volume thereof between said ends; valve means mounted on said tube at each of said ends for permitting fluid to pass through the tube in one direction; an operator member mounted on said casing for reciprocal movement relative thereto; and motion translating means mounted within the casing for converting movement of said operator in one direction into recurrent reciprocating movement of said deforming means, thereby vary to the volume of said tube to force a plurality of fluid pulses through said outlet.

2. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein said casing further includes a bore formed in said barrel portion substantially perpendicular to the passage, with one end opening into the passage, and said deforming means comprises a piston mounted within the bore for movement back and forth in one direction alternately to compress and release said tube.

3. The device as recited in claim 2 wherein said operator member comprises a handle pivotally mounted on said casing and depending therefrom.

4. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising spring means mounted on said casing and engaging said operator member for biasing said operator in a direction opposite to said one direction.

5. The device as recited in claim 3, wherein said motion translating means comprises:

a plurality of gear teeth extending from the inner end of said dle;

a pinion mounted within said casing and engaging said teeth to be rotated thereby during pivotal movement of said handle; and

means connecting said piston and said pinion for moving said piston only when said pinion rotates in one direction.

6. The device as recited in claim 5, wherein said pistonmoving means comprises first and second gears connected respectively to said pinion and said piston said first gear being adapted to engage said second gear only when said first gear rotates in said one direction.

7. The device as recited in claim 6, wherein said pistonmoving means further comprises a rotary member eccentrically connected to said piston and driven by said second gear to effect reciprocation of said piston when said second gear is moved by said first gear in said one direction. 

1. A incision irrigator comprising: a casing including a barrel portion having a continuous passage extending therethrough; a deformable tube extending through the passage and having inlet and outlet ends externally of said casing; reciprocating means for deforming said tube to vary the effective volume thereof between said ends; valve means mounted on said tube at each of said ends for permitting fluid to pass through the tube in one direction; an operator member mounted on said casing for reciprocal movement relative thereto; and motion translating means mounted within the casing for converting movement of said operator in one direction into recurrent reciprocating movement of said deforming means, thereby vary to the volume of said tube to force a plurality of fluid pulses through said outlet.
 2. The device as recited in claim 1 wherein said casing further includes a bore formed in said barrel portion substantially perpendicular to the passage, with one end opening into the passage, and said deforming means comprises a piston mounted within the bore for movement back and forth in one direction alternately to compress and release said tube.
 3. The device as recited in claim 2 wherein said operator member comprises a handle pivotally mounted on said casing and depending therefrom.
 4. The device as recited in claim 1 further comprising spring means mounted on said casing and engaging said operator member for biasing said operator in a direction opposite to said one direction.
 5. The device as recited in claim 3, wherein said motion translating means comprises: a plurality of gear teeth extending from the inner end of said handle; a pinion mounted within said casing and engaging said teeth to be rotated thereby during pivotal movement of said handle; and means connecting said piston and said pinion for moving said piston only when said pinion rotates in one direction.
 6. The device as recited in claim 5, wherein said piston-moving means comprises first and second gears connected respectively to said pinion and said piston said first gear being adapted to engage said second gear only when said first gear rotates in said one direction.
 7. The device as recited in claim 6, wherein said piston-moving means further comprises a rotary member eccentrically connected to said piston and driven by said second gear to effect reciprocation of said piston when said second gear is moved by said first gear in said one direction. 